IEEE Lightning Performance Working Group Minutes

July 17-18, 2000

Seattle, WA

Task Force on Non-Standard Lightning Voltage Waves

Task Force on Parameters of Lightning Strokes

These task forces met from 7:00-8:30 p.m. on July 17.  Attending were Chowdhuri (chair), Chisholm, Ishii, and McDermott. These task forces have already published a bibliography and a review paper on non-standard waves and insulator time-dependence models. The remaining work to publish includes another bibliography on stroke parameters, and a summary paper on modeling recommendations, to include the behavior of towers.

Several task force members have provided contributions for the next two papers, but not much progress has been made in the last two years. Largely, this is because of insufficient response to the chairman's requests for reviews. Chowdhuri will assemble the existing material into a draft summary paper and a draft bibliography, and McDermott will review the results. We need to address whether to deduce volt-time characteristics from just the 1.2 x 50 tests, or with the 0.1 x 10 waveshape also. None of the insulator time dependence models really seem adequate. Chowdhuri raised questions about whether the magnitude of the return stroke current depends on the struck object, as well as the return stroke velocity, based on some preliminary work. Not all of these questions can be answered definitely, but the plan is to have a summary/status paper ready for presentation to the WG at the next Winter Power Meeting in Columbus. Chowdhuri has requested that a new task force chair be appointed after the next two papers are finished.

Chisholm pointed out that the proposed new 0.1 x 10 waveshape should be moved into the standards process as a supplement to the 1.2 x 50 waveshape.

Some overhead ground wires with fiber optic cable cores have failed unexpectedly. The responsible IEEE working groups need the results of these task forces in the published record, to help support new standards for these ground wires.

Working Group on Estimating the Lightning Performance of Distribution Lines

This working group met from 8:00-10:00 a.m. on July 18. Phil Barker chaired the meeting in Tom Short's absence.

Juan Martinez presented Calculation of Lightning Flashover Rates of Overhead Distribution Lines - A Comparative Study, coauthored with Prit Chowdhuri and Francisco Gonzalez. This paper is on the conference proceedings CD, but was improperly scheduled in the program for Wednesday morning

Phil Barker raised several points for the working group to address in future work:

  1. electrogeometric model (all agreed that the EGM is inadequate)
  2. midspan flashovers (photographic evidence that they occur on distribution lines)
  3. multiple stroke termination or attachment points (reinforced by the Global Atmospherics representatives)
  4. optical ground wires (more details above in the TF minutes).

Working Group on Estimating the Lightning Performance of Transmission Lines

This working group met from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. on July 18. Bill Chisholm introduced Tom McDermott as the new working group chair. Chris Hickman was forced to resign as chair due to his promotion at P.S. New Mexico.

Members and visitors introduced themselves.

Francisco del la Rosa presented Revisiting Lightning Protection Trends in the Electric Utility Industry in the Dawn of the New Millenium, coauthored by Carlos Tirado Ruiz. This paper is on the conference proceedings CD, but was improperly scheduled in the program for Wednesday morning.

Wasyl Janischewskyj presented Expanding the Modified Transmission Line Model to Account for Reflections within the Continuously Growing Lightning Return Stroke Channel, coauthored by Shostak and Hussein. This paper is on the conference proceedings CD, but was improperly scheduled in the program for Wednesday morning.

The Task Force minutes from the previous evening were presented. Chisholm reinforced the need for published work to support the optical ground wire working groups.

Tom McDermott listed several points for the working group to address over the next couple of years:

  1. reaffirm or revise the design guide in 2002
  2. update and distribute the FLASH program via the Web site
  3. explore and upgrade or replacement to the electrogeometric model
  4. use of lighting detection network data for design and benchmarking

The next WG meeting will be "off site" in Tucson, AZ, on November 10, 2000. This is the same week and location as the International Lightning Detection Conference and FALLS User Group Meeting hosted by Global Atmospherics.

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